There are many exciting things happening in the Arts Department! We are preparing for Arts Night, which will take place on Friday, April 25 from 4:00 - 6:30 p.m. Mark your calendars. All senior students taking an arts course must attend. Middle school students are expected to attend some of the evening and complete a short response.
Drama
Elmwood Theatre completed Narnia last week with a very successful and creative run. Congratulations to Ms. Benson and Ms. Maitland for their direction and for all of the actors and crew! The play involved a wide group of students including the grade seven art students who danced and created sculptures, as well as the grade 10 art students who designed costumes along with Mia Bettoli-Remonda. We will be sad to lose the amazing support of some of the grade 12 students who have led Elmwood Theatre for the past three seasons including Madeline Winter as lead stage manager, Kay Sharkey as assistant director, May Wang in advertising, Madeleine Delaney who has helped with direction and social media, and Abby Ruel-O’Brien who has been our diligent photographer over the years. Thank you to Mr. Warren Pratte for his instrumental role in upgrading the lighting system. It takes a whole team to put together such a large production.
Visual Art
The grade 11 and 12 visual art students had their Senior Art Show at Rockcliffe Park Public Library over the past month. We had a lovely vernissage with parents, administrators, librarians and the community. The library was happy to collaborate with Elmwood and to host the art show. The grade 12 IB art students are preparing to have their exhibitions where they show their artworks on a theme they chose to work on over the past year and a half. The new kiln is in full swing, and the ceramics club is excited to make a plethora of items. A professional development workshop was held for junior school teachers so that they can use ceramics in their classrooms.
Music
Over the past two weekends, the bands have competed at the Capital Region Music Fest with strong results. The MS Jazz Combo will compete at Nationals in Toronto in May. Here are the results for Elmwood at Music Fest: Capital Region Music Fest Results:
Grade 6 Wind Ensemble: Silver, Silver, Gold
Grade 7 Wind Ensemble: Silver, Silver, Gold + invitation to Musicfest Canada
Grade 8 Wind Ensemble: Gold, Gold, Gold + invitation to Musicfest Canada
Senior Wind Ensemble: Gold, Gold, Gold + Invitation to Musicfest Canada
Middle School Jazz Combo: Silver, Silver, Gold
Senior Jazz Combo: Silver Silver Gold
Musicians showcased their talents at Coffee House at the end of January.
The Arts Hoodie and Patches
This year, the Arts Council decided to create Elmwood Arts merch (the hoodie) with iron-on patches for each arts extracurricular. We had our first run of the hoodie in December and we will have another run in late April/early May. The hoodies sell for $40. There will be a $10 flat fee for patches at the upcoming Arts Banquet in June. Students will receive a patch for each arts extracurricular they were involved in, and then they can attach it to their hoodie. For example, middle school students could receive several patches including MS Arts Council, Alice, Sculpture Club, MS Improv, Yearbook, Dance Club, Arts Masterclass, MS Jazz combo, and/or Capital Region Music Fest. Here are the 20 patches that were designed by the students.
